Judicial Watch v FISA Court: No Hearings - No Transcripts

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch today announced that in response to a Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, the Justice Department (DOJ) admitted in a court filing last night that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court held no hearings on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) spy warrant applications targeting Carter Page, a former Trump campaign part-time advisor who was the subject of four controversial FISA warrants.

Office of the Dep. Att’y General, Order No. 3915-2017, Appointment of Special Counsel to Investigate Russian Interference with the 2016 Presidential Election and Related Matters (May 17, 2017), https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/967231/download..............................3

Transcript of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Hearing on Russian

Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election, March 20, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/03/20/full-transcript-fbi- director-james-comey-testifies-on-russian-interference-in-2016- election/?utm_term=.b9f19a0cf9cf..............................................................................................3

vi Case 1:18-cv-01050-ABJ Document 8 Filed 08/30/18 Page 11 of 27

INTRODUCTION

Using the Freedom of Information Act, Plaintiff seeks information about certain types of

surveillance activity allegedly related to an ongoing investigation. More specifically, they seek

transcripts of hearings before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (“FISC”) related to

alleged surveillance of two specific individuals: Carter Page or Michael Flynn. The Department

of Justice (“DOJ”) National Security Division (“NSD”) confirmed that there are no records

1 Rather than being directed to any particular component, the request was sent to the DepartmentMail Referral Unit. See Findlay Decl. ¶ 4; see generally 28 C.F.R. §16.3(a)(1), (2); DOJ FOIAReference Guide, Pt. III: Where to Make a FOIA Request (Jan. 30, 2017), available athttps://www.justice.gov/oip/department-justice-freedom-information-act-reference-guide#where(permitting submission of requests to the Mail Referral Unit “[i]f you believe that DOJ maintainsthe records you are seeking, but you are uncertain about which component has the records”).The regulations advise that “[a] request will receive the quickest possible response if it isaddressed to the FOIA office of the component that maintains the records sought.” 28 C.F.R.§16.3(a)(1).

2 Case 1:18-cv-01050-ABJ Document 8 Filed 08/30/18 Page 13 of 27

Russia Investigation and FISA Applications Related to Carter Page

Plaintiff’s FOIA request arises in a factual context in which there is an ongoing,

acknowledged official investigation related to the Trump campaign. Specifically, the FBI has

acknowledged a counterintelligence investigation of “the Russian government’s efforts to

interfere in the 2016 presidential election[, including] the nature of any links between individuals

associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any

coordination between the campaign and Russia’s efforts [and] an assessment of whether any

crimes were committed.” See Transcript of the House Permanent Select Committee on

Intelligence Hearing on Russian Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election, March 20, 2017,

3 The FISC Rules of Procedure, as well as an explanatory letter to Congress, are available on theFISC website. See http://www.fisc.uscourts.gov/about-foreign-intelligence-surveillance-court;Findlay Decl. ¶ 14.